


Let's talk about feelings

by Mindell



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien fights back, F/M, Getting Together, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi Lies, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:22:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28429224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mindell/pseuds/Mindell
Summary: "...but I really wish we were friends, and I'm sure we could be if you wanted to make an effort, Marinette. You have nothing to fear from me, I assure you, even though I know you see me as a rival because of your feelings for Adrie-oops!” Lila stopped, bringing her hand dramatically to her mouth.Marinette's blood froze in her veins.She should have expected it.It had been weeks that Lila threatened her to reveal "accidentally" what she felt for Adrien to the boy it concerned. This was now done.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 31
Kudos: 642





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Parlons sentiments](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26159932) by [Mindell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mindell/pseuds/Mindell). 



> Hi !
> 
> This is a translation of my fic "Parlons sentiments" (originally in french) which you can find on my account.  
> I translated it myself but English is not my first language, so feel free to tell me if you see any mistake. I'll fix it as soon as possible ! :D 
> 
> Have a nice day :)

"...but I _really_ wish we were friends, and I'm sure we could be if you wanted to make an effort, Marinette. You have nothing to fear from me, I assure you, even though I know you see me as a rival because of your feelings for Adrie- _oops_!” Lila stopped, bringing her hand dramatically to her mouth.

Marinette's blood froze in her veins.

She should have expected it.

It had been weeks that Lila threatened to reveal "accidentally" what she felt for Adrien to the boy it concerned. This was now done. And this, in the middle of the class, in front of all the other students, under the guise of a tearful tirade during which she lamented the supposedly unfounded animosity that Marinette felt towards her.

Fists clenched in rage, Marinette had to use all of her self-control to refrain from jumping at Lila's throat.

In normal times, this new attempt at humiliation would have been enough to infuriate her.

Especially if it was about Adrien. The boy she cared about the most in the world and whose opinion was of the utmost importance to her.

But there, unwittingly, her (detestable) classmate had spectacularly interfered with her plans.

Nobody knew about it, not even Alya, but Marinette had finally decided to talk to Adrien about how she felt for him. And this time, there would be no complicated plan, no last-minute leak. She would just tell him what she thought of him, of them, period.

And she’d tell him fast.

It was necessary, for her own mental health and for the sake of their friendship. She couldn't stay any longer without telling him what was on her mind, without telling him sincerely everything she thought of him.

Yes, in a few days at most, Marinette would have taken Adrien aside to have a frank discussion with him. They could have had a long and serious conversation about their respective feelings, could have finally set the record straight and could have resume their relationship on a healthy basis.

That was the plan.

But with her intervention, Lila had just snatched away this moment that should have belonged only to Adrien and her.

Rarely had Marinette experienced such a feeling of frustration.

There was only consolation for her: Alya, usually so quick to try to defuse the tensions between the two young girls, seemed for once just as revolted as her best friend.

Eyes wide in surprise, eyebrows furrowed in anger, Alya let out an indignant exclamation. No matter how much she considered Lila her friend, such a breach of the class etiquette couldn't be excused so easily.

In view of the shocked expressions of the other students, the sentiment was also widely shared by the rest of their audience.

But it obviously took more than that to disrupt Lila's little stunt. Fingers brought to her trembling lips, the girl turned theatrically towards her enemy.

  
"Oh, Marinette," she exclaimed in a false contrite voice, her eyes shining with equally fictitious tears, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Interrupting with a dramatic sob, Lila crushed her palm against her mouth and turned her face away.

Her performance might be so exaggerated that it bordered on ridiculousness, it still achieved its goal. Around her, the other students who had been as revolted as Marinette now seemed divided between indignation and compassion.

A few more tears, a few more manifestations of repentance, and it was a safe bet that everyone would be more busy consoling Lila rather than her unfortunate victim.

But Marinette didn't care about her classmate's shenanigans. All her attention was now focused on the boy sitting in front of her.

From the moment Lila's so-called slip of the tongue crossed his lips, Adrien had turned his head towards Marinette with a speed that was matched only by his obvious disregard for the well-being of his cervicals.

Adrien now was staring at her with a strange expression, a curious mixture of someone who had been hit with a club on the head and a child who had been told that Christmas was three months early. His eyebrows were raised so much in surprise that they almost disappeared behind his blonde locks. His mouth was slightly open. His cheekbones, which Marinette knew the usual color by heart, were delicately adorned with pink.

And his eyes, his eyes...

Adrien was staring at her with such intensity that Marinette could feel the weight of his gaze weighing on her. _Literally_. She felt his incredulous surprise sweeping her face, her thousand silent questions pressing against her skin.

Cheeks burning, Marinette buried her head in her hands.

If everyone could let her quietly burn out in frustration and embarrassment, that would be perfect, thank you.

But visibly indifferent to her wishes for eternal oblivion, Adrien found nothing better than to speak to her.

"Marinette..." he began in a hesitant voice. "I know Lila lies the way she breathes, but," he continued, royally ignoring the outrageous exclamation of the aforementioned person, "this… is this true? You... Do you have feelings for me?"

Her face as red as her costume, Marinette spread her fingers slightly to give him a murderous look.

Naturally.

He could have pretended to be absorbed in his homework, he could have faked a sudden hearing loss, but no.

He _had_ to react.

"Above all, I feel a deep sense of exasperation," she growled without trying to hide her annoyance.

Undaunted, Adrien leaned more towards her. Elbow resting on the back of his bench, chin casually resting in the palm of his palm, he stared at her with eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Towards Lila?" He asked her with a smirk. "Towards me? Towards the situation in general? "

"All three."

"Ah, nothing really serious then," concluded Adrien with a splendid optimism - or, according to Marinette, in a wonderful example of denial of reality.

Giving up on hiding her face any longer between her fingers, she let her hands fall on her desk and rolled her eyes dramatically.

Her reaction drew a burst of amused laughter from Adrien, before the boy immediately became serious again. Reaching out to Marinette, he rested his fingers on hers. Slowly, delicately, as if his classmate's hand was a fierce bird that he feared to frighten with too sudden a gesture.

In a superb effort of self-control, Marinette managed to stay still.

Her heart, however, immediately crashed into her rib cage.

 _Badoum_.

Visibly unconscious of having propelled his friend to the verge of a heart attack, Adrien leaned closer to her.

"Please," he implored her. "My L- _rinette_ ," he corrected himself before Marinette even had time to give him a warning look. “I have always been serious about my feelings for you. And they haven't changed. Even after we... Well, you know. "

The few words Adrien refrained from uttering floated between the two teenagers.

_...even after we find out our secret identities._

_My feelings for you haven't changed, even after we discovered our secret identities_ , Marinette's brain reconstituted in a valiant burst of lucidity.

The sensation of another shock, like a hammer blow, shook the young girl from the inside.

 _Badoum_.

With feverish eyes, Adrien leaned a little more towards her.

Close, so close that she could count his lashes, feel his breath on her skin, lose herself in the mesmerizing green of his eyes.

"If Lila is telling the truth," the boy continued in a voice full of emotion, "does that mean that... the other boy... it was... me?" "

Marinette's heart was pounding as hard as if he was trying to burst out of her chest.

_Badoum. Badoum. Badoum._

In a daze, Marinette felt herself mechanically nodding her head.

The outside world had vanished in an indistinct fog, her expertly worked out plans had vanished from her mind.

Only Adrien existed.

Adrien, and how she felt for him.

"It's you," she confirmed.

 _Is_.

Still.

Always.

The use of the present did not escape Adrien.

Taken by surprise, the teenage boy sat up abruptly in his seat.

Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face. A huge, wonderful, irrepressible smile, which in turn made the corners of Marinette's lips stretch.

Adrien’s radiant happiness was so pure that it was contagious.

Drunk with joy and heart so light that it could have touched the clouds, Marinette felt pleasantly disconnected from reality. A small incredulous chuckle escaped her mouth as Adrien leaned in again to bring her fingers to his lips.

But contrary to his habits, his teammate turned her hand at the last minute to kiss the inside of her wrist.

The intimacy of the gesture made Marinette blush to the roots of her hair. Adrien's lips on her wrist were like a spark, the start of the fire that set her skin ablaze and inflamed her heart.

That.

 _That_ was why she needed plans.

Without plans, without solid mental preparation and serious self-control exercises, how could she resist the devastating charm of the love of her life? How could she anticipate the way his eyes made her heart leap? How could she ignore the delicious chills that his touch made run down her spine? How could she control this instinct which pushed her towards him like a magnet attracted by another, demanding more kisses on her skin, more heat under her fingers, more, more, more, _more_.

By necessity, Adrien and her - _Chat Noir_ and her - already had too little notion of personal space, coupled with a link whose intensity defied the imagination.

It was dangerous.

She needed plans.

Plans, plans and more plans, otherwise she would certainly end up liquefied with joy and love by the end of the day.

Especially if Adrien kissed her again.

On the hand or at all.

Marinette's face was now so red that heat radiated from her cheeks.

Adrien straightened up without letting go of her fingers, his eyes fixed on hers. The smile that lit the boy’s features was now timid, in perfect contradiction with the boldness of his attitude.

Marinette felt herself melt a little more.

Adrien's delicacy. Chat Noir’s eccentricities.

Two sides of the same boy, whom she was still learning to see as a single whole, but which only made him more precious in her eyes.

"It's me," he articulated with incredulous glee.

As if he didn't dare believe it.

As if she had just given him the greatest gift in the world.

Heart pounding so hard she could feel it pulsing all over her body, Marinette gently freed her wrist from Adrien's grip to intertwine his fingers with hers.

The smile that immediately lit her partner’s face was so bright it could compete with the sun.

 _I love you,_ his look of pure adoration told her.

_I love you I love you I love you._

And if there were a thousand declarations of love and eternal oaths in Adrien's eyes, the answer in Marinette's was just as clear.

_I love you too._


	2. Chapter 2

An amused whistle suddenly startled Marinette and Adrien. Completely focused on each other, they had completely forgotten that they were in the middle of the classroom and of all of their classmates.

No, scratch that.

In the middle of the classroom, of all their classmates _AND_ of a confrontation with Lila.

This last point, in particular, had obviously not left Alya indifferent.

Normally, the blogger would have been ecstatic to see a rapprochement between Marinette and Adrien. She would have loudly expressed her joy, jumped on Marinette's neck to congratulate her, patted Adrien affectionately on the shoulder, without forgetting of course to take a few - no, a _lot_ of - photos of this glorious moment.

And, of course, because Alya is Alya and because _knowing_ is as essential to her as breathing, she would have bombarded her friends with questions to find out what had led to this much hoped-for development.

But there, Alya's curiosity was not directed towards Marinette and Adrien.

While Kim and Alix continued to gratify their friends with happy whistles - which Marinette couldn’t say if they were intended to congratulate her or to embarrass her (or more certainly both) - Alya's gaze went from Adrien to _Lila_ and vice versa.

Eyebrows furrowed behind her glasses, lips pursed, the young blogger was obviously as puzzled as she was upset.

And because Alya is Alya and because there is no mystery that she can see passing by without trying to solve it, she didn't waste another second before opening her mouth.

"Adrien," she called out to her friend in a firm voice.

An authoritative voice.

An inquiring voice.

An I-know-I-missed-something-and-you're-going-to-spit-it-out-now voice.

Alya's gleaming gaze of determination challenged anyone to dare try to lie to her.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely delighted for you and Marinette and you better tell me later. But tell me... When you say Lila lies as she breathes, _what_ exactly are you referring to? "

"To nothing !” Lila hastened to intervene. “To nothing _at all_! It's just a little joke between friends, isn't it, Adrien? "

To perfect her showing, she let out a supposedly amused little laugh.

But her smile had the hardness of steel and the fingernails of the hand she placed on Adrien's arm sank painfully into the boy’s flesh. If her eyes had been daggers, her gaze on the young model would have been a blade placed under his throat as a warning.

Still, more was needed to impress Adrien.

His reserves of patience with Lila had long been exhausted and the dirty move she just had made on Marinette aroused in him a desire for revenge.

No one attacked his princess without suffering the consequences.

Adrien turned to Lila, brows furrowed and lips pursed. From his rock-hard gaze to the stiffness of his posture, everything about his attitude exuded disapproval.

He had learned from the best. Never had it been so obvious that Adrien _Agreste_ was indeed the son of his illustrious father.

"First, it's not a joke," he snapped. “Second, we’re _not_ friends. "

As Lila opened her mouth to reply, Adrien interrupted her with a gesture of the hand.

"And before you say anything to contradict me, like pretending that I'm lying for whatever reason, I'll stop you right there. If that had been the case, I could have just said that we were only vague acquaintances. But let's be clear,” he continued, raising his voice and turning to the other students, who were staring at him, dumbfounded. “I'm not _at all_ friends with Lila. I don't like her and I _never_ liked her. Period. "

A dangerous glint sparkled in the young Italian's eyes.

"You shouldn't say that, Adrien," she growled threateningly. " Your father… "

"...will be _delighted_ to hear everything I have to tell him about you," Adrien cut her off. "Like the fact that you spend your time trying to kiss or touch me without my permission, for example, despite the fact that I've already asked you to stop several times. "

Horrified gasps escaped from the other students.

All eyes were on Lila with rifle speed.

The impact of Adrien's words could be seen on everyone’s face.

Rose's complexion was greenish. Mylène, huddled in the arms of a visibly shocked Ivan, looked just as nauseous. Juleka curled up in her seat, muttering indistinct words. Max was wobbling, as if he had been hit with a club on the head. Features twisted in fury, Kim and Alix seemed ready to pounce on Lila. Sabrina was as pale as Chloe was flushed with anger, while Nathaniel looked on the verge of collapsing. Hands clenched in rage around her phone, Alya clutched the device with so much force that one could legitimately expect it to break in two at any moment. As for Nino, he seemed to hesitate between throwing up and screaming his anger.

Clearly sensing the situation slipping away, Lila decided to intervene without wasting any more time.

She turned to her comrades, eyes shining with tears and lips quivering, a picture of unjustly accused innocence.

"It’s a lie!” She exclaimed, waving her hands vigorously in front of her in denial. “A terrible lie! You can not -"

"I have proof," Adrien abruptly dropped.

His voice sounded like a slaughtering blade.

Cold. Sharp. Ruthless.

Deadly effective.

In the silence that immediately paralyzed the room, the boy’s words echoed, loud and clear.

“Your behaviour did not go unnoticed during our photoshoots," he added to Lila's attention. “Photographers, makeup artists, technicians… I can't count the number of people who noticed how much you were pestering me to get closer and how uncomfortable it made me. "

"I - "

"Do you have any idea how long I've worked for my father?" Adrien continued implacably. "And how long have the people who work on our photoshoots been working for him?" He added as Lila gave him a confused look. “Most of his employees saw me grow up, and they were more than willing to help me out when they figured out what was going on. "

"To… to help you?” Lila said. "What do you mean?"

"I mean they helped me gather evidence," Adrien said. "Evidence that you keep trying to kiss or touch me under any pretext. Evidence that you invade my personal space all the time, although I always tell you no. Evidence that you threaten me when I refuse to obey you. Evidence that you are harassing me, in short,” he concluded with a triumphant look at his enemy, as new exclamations of anger escaped from their comrades.

Taking advantage of the fact that Lila seemed to run out of excuses for once, Adrien was happy to give her the final blow.

"I have a whole bunch of audio and video recordings, which I intend to present to my father," he announced with dark jubilation. “It's only a matter of time before you’re definitively forbidden to approach me. "

This latest attack pulled Lila out of her horrified torpor.

"You ... you can’t do that!” She exclaimed. "Well, I'm not saying these recordings exist," she recovered with a panicked glint in her eyes. "But _even if_ that were the case, you would never have had the right to record any of our conversations without my permission. It’s not legal! "

A ferocious smile spread over Adrien's lips.

"Oh, but I _have_ your permission," he replied in a dangerously soft voice. "You should have read your contract more carefully when you were hired by my father. "

" My… contract?” Lila repeated, surprised.

"Yes," Adrien agreed. “In your contract, as in mine, there is a clause stating that you give your permission to be photographed, filmed or recorded in any way from the moment you are at the scene of a photo shoot. It’s essential, after all,” he continued, leaning casually against the back of his seat, all in false nonchalance and feline grace. “It's part of the job. All that to say that I have the right to record you," Adrien concluded with a satisfied click of his tongue. "And that I have _plenty_ to get you fired. "

Fists clenched in rage, Lila glared at him.

"I forbid you to do this," she growled in a threatening voice.

"Forbid as much as you want, it won't stop me from doing it," Adrien retorted without blinking. "I only tolerated your presence because you threatened to make Marinette's life a living hell if I didn't obey you. But now it's over. "

His last remark made the effect of a bomb dropped in the middle of the class.

“WHAT?” Exploded the other students.

" YOU DID THREATEN MARINETTE?" Alya yelled, leaping towards the young Italian.

Lila escaped her grip only by hiding behind the desk of Adrien and Nino, before retreating even further after meeting the murderous gaze of the young DJ.

"No, no, not at all," she stammered hastily, "you mustn't believe…"

"Yes, she threatened me," Marinette confirmed nonchalantly. "Many times."

If Adrien had decided that it was time to expose Lila, it was with a big, a wide, an _immense_ pleasure that she would give him a hand.

"Lila alludes to it in some of our conversations, if you want proof," Adrien said with a predatory smile that made the few students who weren't already busy glaring at Lila shiver.

Livid, Alya clenched her shaking fists and took a deep breath. It was obvious that she was trying hard to manage to stay calm. After a hatred-filled look at Lila, she forced herself to turn away from the one she previously considered a friend to focus on Adrien.

"At this point in the conversation, I imagine it's not worth telling you about the rumour that you're in love with Lila, and that Marinette hates her because of the feelings she inspires in you?” She asked him, her voice vibrating with barely contained fury.

"You can always," Adrien replied with an evasive shrug. "I would answer you that I'm in love with Marinette, and Lila inspires me with absolutely nothing other than negative feelings. "

Marinette's cheeks flushed violently at Adrien's nonchalant confession. But for now, no question for the girl to be distracted by her feelings for her teammate.

Now, Adrien faced Lila with the firm intention of destroying her lies once and for all.

Out of the question for her to let him fight a battle without being firmly by his side.

Her blue eyes as hard as steel, she mechanically exerted a slight pressure on Adrien's fingers.

“I would add that personally,” she slipped in a dangerously soft voice, “I have my little idea where this rumor came from. "

Once again, all eyes turned to Lila.

A deafening silence fell upon the room.

One second.

Two seconds.

Then there was the explosion.

This final awareness of their classmate's manipulations was obviously all that the other students needed to crack once and for all. Everyone screamed and left their seats to come and circle Lila, whose complexion had taken on an ugly greyish colour.

Staying back, Nino turned to his best friend.

"I'm sorry," apologized, lifting his cap with a contrite look. "I thought that since you liked Marinette - well, more than _like_ , obviously - you took her side without checking what she was saying. Lila had convinced me that she had nothing to be ashamed of. That all the times you seemed to be uncomfortable around her, it was only because of Marinette, because you didn't want to cause more friction between them…”

"If I were you, I would take everything Lila says with a HUGE grain of salt," Adrien confirmed with a brief nod. "I can make you listen to my records, if you want."

"No need, I believe you," Nino replied, waving his hands in front of him. “And I'm sorry I didn't listen to you earlier. I apologize. And to you too, Marinette,” he added, turning to her. "I shouldn't have doubted you. "

Around them, the other students, Alya in the lead, continued to scold Lila sharply. Between two indignant exclamations, they eagerly consulted their phones, finally leaning on the crazy stories of their comrade to seek - without success - some semblance of truth.

Adrien and Marinette had no doubts that after this wave of anger would come the time when their friends would rush to apologize to them.

But for now, they weren't in the mood to care.

Fingers still intertwined with Marinette's, Adrien brought the girl's hand to his lips to place a tender kiss there. A thousand emotions hovered between the two blushing adolescents, nestled in their eyes, coiled against their skin.

A feeling of infallible complicity.

Relief.

Happiness.

But above all, stronger and brighter than anything else, an obvious feeling:

Love.

***** THE END *****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi !  
> This is the end of this little story :) . I hope you liked it and that there weren't too many mistakes.  
> For my part, I had a lot of fun translating it! I thought it would be much more boring but in the end I liked it, it helps me progress in English. I have other stories in French in stock, it’s possible I’m posting more translations if I don't get tired of it.  
> Thank you for reading me and happy new year!  
> And of course, mayuralover, thank you again for your help :D !


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